Biography

Dessa Jean Casalme is a young investigator who earned her Medical Doctor (MD) degree from the De La Salle Medical and Health Sciences Institute (DLSMHSI) in 2017 and received her MD license in 2018. She is currently taking a Diploma Program in Clinical Epidemiology at University of the Philippines, Manila. She has been a sub-investigator in various clinical trials focusing on preventive and treatment studies for multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) in both adults and children since 2019. Her involvement in these TB projects have inspired and sparked her interest in drug-resistant TB.

Expertise

TB Diagnostics
Public Health

Key Impacts

Whole genome sequencing for new and repurposed anti-TB drugs among people with drug-resistant TB in the Philippines

Resistance to new and repurposed anti-TB drugs remains low in the Philippines. Continued use of fluoroquinolones appears safe as resistance has remained low despite its programmatic use for MDR-TB since 2000. The high frequency of katG mutations suggests that high-dose isoniazid may not be suitable in MDR-TB regimens in the Philippines.

Source: Conference 2024